BYUtv’s Studio C is a family-oriented sketch comedy show that has been creating content since 2012. Dalton Johnson, a cast member and comedy sketch writer for Sudio C, gave a presentation at BYU-Idaho, sharing tips to good comedy sketch writing and why comedy is so important to him.
Johnson attended Brigham Young University and was a member of Divine Comedy, a sketch comedy group at BYU, before receiving a call about a job offer as a cast member of Studio C.
“I thought it was totally random and out of the blue and awesome,” Johnson said. “Like, I was struggling to find even a student job at the time, so, yeah, I did not think that was even in the realm of possibility. So, I'm still very grateful for that. I still have a job because of that.”
Johnson gave a presentation at BYU-Idaho last Thursday about comedy and how to become a better comedic writer.
“Even if you are a dramatic writer, you still want silliness in your life or in your brain,” Johnson said. “You want surprise to happen in your writing, and silliness is a great way to create surprise. So, if you're thinking in that kind of mode, then that can make you prone to think of more surprising kind of things.”
Johnson said comedy is an outlet that can take people away from the worries of the world and just focus on being silly.
“Humor can be used as a weapon, but it can also just be a way to bring people together and kind of just, like, if you make a joke out of something bad that's happening,” Johnson said. “Then it's like you kind of have power over the bad things that are. If it's funny, then it can't be that bad, right? So, I love humor in that way.”
Johnson believes that comedy and humor can make people feel happier and avoid negativity.
“There's a lot of people that are like, oh, look on the bright side of things, be grateful for things, and I think that's important,” Johnson said. “But it's easier for me to just joke about the hard things that are happening. It's easier to not be in a negative headspace when everything's a joke.”